Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Meyer Lemon Curd

This past week winter was felt everywhere including here in sunny Florida with temperatures dipping into the low 30's Monday night! The weather is warming up though but in the meantime you can do like I do and head into the kitchen and cook. It will keep you warm! Plus I have the perfect thing to bring some sunshine into winter and that is lemon curd. Indeed right now Meyer Lemons are in season. One of my neighbors has a beautiful tree laden with fruit and offered some to me. So I made Meyer Lemon curd with it and it is fantastic.

Although I used Meyer Lemons for this batch you can make this with any kind of lemon or other citrus. I absolutely love this recipe which I have adapted from a Cooking Light recipe. It is creamy and bursting with lemon flavor and it is so easy to make. I added a sprig of rosemary to mine while it cooked for a gentle hint of flavor.

You can use it on toast or scones. I have used it as a filling in cakes and for lemon tarts and as a topping on lemon cheesecake. It is just so versatile! Please give it a try.

A few tips before I begin the recipe: Leave the lemons on the counter as a room temperature lemon will yield more juice. Grate the lemons first while they are still whole.

Put the sugar, eggs and lemon rind in a sauce pan and stir to thoroughly blend. Add the rosemary.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon juice, butter and cream. Return to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes until the mixture thickens and starts to bubble. Remove the rosemary.

Pour the lemon curd into clean jars and put in the fridge. It will thicken up as it chills.